In general, before a product—hardware or software—is brought to market, it may be tested in different ways, to demonstrate its workability or to determine whether it is compatible with other products, for example. In the computer industry, for example, a prototypical consumer electronic device may be tested by repeatedly plugging it into and unplugging it from a computer system under various operating conditions. That is, the device may be “hot swapped” into and out of the computer system with the computer in different power states (e.g., full power, sleeping or hibernating, standby) and also with the computer turned off. Testing of this sort may be performed hundreds or thousands of times per device.
The nature of the testing can be time-consuming, which can increase costs. These problems are magnified when it is necessary or desirable to test a number of devices in parallel. Different combinations of the devices may need to be tested, each combination at different power conditions. Not only can this increase the cost and duration of the testing, but managing and implementing such a variety of tests can be unduly complex.
A solution to the problems mentioned above would thus be advantageous.